A Whale Of A Tale To Tell You

Okay, it's science trivia time again. As usual, No. 2 pencils only, and be sure to fill the box completely. The question: The northern right whale was so named:

Because of its staunchly conservative stand on political matters relating to sea-going mammals.

To distinguish it from the northern left whale.

Because whalers of the last century thought it was just the right kind of whale to hunt.

The answer: The last one. Slow swimmers that conveniently float when killed -- that's what makes them ''right'' for whalers -- northern right whales were hunted nearly into extinction until laws protecting them were first passed half a century ago. Perhaps 300 of them survive, all members of the same extended herd.

That's one reason scientists have been so elated by the recent discovery of a right-whale calving ground, running from Florida's Amelia Island north to Georgia's Sapelo Island and offshore to about 15 miles on the wide, shallow continental shelf.

Whales aren't as uncommon in these parts as you might think. In the late 1970s, 125 pilot whales -- a smallish variety that grows to about 15 feet -- washed up on Jacksonville Beach in a single day.But large whales like the rights, which can grow to 60 feet and weigh 50 tons, are rare indeed to the Florida and Georgia waters. Occasionally a humpback migrates by, or some Bryde's whales, the only big whale not on the endangered species list, will wander this way from their home in tropical waters. Now add right whales to that list.

As fun as all this is, it also poses some special environmental problems. Fortunately, a recent federal effort to lease part of the calving ground for offshore oil exploration drew no interested parties. Happily, too, the Army Corps of Engineers, which is building a Trident submarine base near St. Marys, Ga., on Cumberland Sound has agreed to forgo any blasting when whales are seen in the area.

Even better, the Georgia Conservancy, based in Savannah, is putting together a workshop on right whales that it hopes will draw representatives of the appropriate state agencies in Florida and Georgia.